Fulfillment

"Your needs and My riches are a perfect fit.

I never meant you to be self sufficient. Instead, I

designed you to need Me not only for daily bread but also

for fulfillment of deep yearnings. I carefully crafted your

longings and feelings of incompleteness, to point you to

Me. Therefore, do not try to bury or deny these feelings.

Beware also of trying to pacify these longings with lesser

gods: people, possessions, power."

"Come to Me in all your neediness, with defenses down and

with desire to be blessed. As you spend time in My presence,

your deepest longings are fulfilled. Rejoice in your neediness,

which enables you to find intimate completion in Me."

Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

I don't know about all of you, but I find it hard especially at Christmas to focus on Him! I know that sounds crazy because I know and believe the true meaning of the season, but I still get bogged down with the ways of the world. I love all of the things that coincide with this time of year: the candy making, the decorating, Christmas programs, and holiday gatherings. These are all great ways to celebrate our Savior's birth, but come second to the one thing that can fulfill all your needs. I pray for myself this holiday season that I celebrate. That I make the candy, decorate the house, go enjoy the Christmas programs and laugh with family at the holiday gatherings, but before all of those things, I pray that I whole-heartedly fill myself with Jesus Christ and allow Him to complete me! I pray the same for all of you.

Merry Christmas! Enjoy and celebrate that His riches and our needs are a perfect fit!!

Adios for now!

Hi all! I just wanted to let you know that I don't think I'll be blogging for awhile. I still love reading everyone else's though! Have a great day!

Random Happenings

I don't have anything specific to write about, but since I haven't updated my blog since AUGUST, I thought I should let you know what was happening in our lives. Here's a few snapshots to update you:


Eli's buddy Kooper gave him this hat a few weeks, maybe even months ago. We go thru phases, but usually this hat is on his head! He sleeps with it on, plays with it on, rides in the car with it on, all while telling everyone he meets, "This my friend Kooper's hat. My friend Kooper give me this hat!" Thanks, Koop!

This is not a typical pose for these 2. They LOVE to always be with each other. They have to know where the other one is, BUT they fight like crazy!! You know what I'm talking about, "he's touching me!" "Sophia not sharing!" and even as I type this, "Eli yelled at me!" I'm told that this is pay back for how my husband Todd and his younger sister, Sara fought with each other. Thanks, Todd and Sara!

It's inevitable. All kids do it at least once, right? Well, it still nearly brought me to tears. Sophia, gave herself a haircut!!

So we went to my cousin Sarah for an emergency new cut for Sophia.

I would NEVER tell her this, but I'm almost glad she cut her hair! Her new cut is so cute and soooo much easier!

Madelyn's first day of 3rd grade

Standing by her new classroom. This year she has Maestra Suero.

Best buds Sophia and Kennedy.

Sophia's first day of preschool. She has Maestra De Leon. She goes 3 afternoons a week and loves it!!

Standing outside her classroom

We decided it was time to put a sidewalk out front. I forgot to take "after" pictures, but will update you soon.

Thank you, Vruggink, Bros!

The kids LOVED to watch the men working!

Todd and I needed a little break this fall, so we went to Chicago for 2 nights without kids!! We went with good friends of ours, Tim and Dawn and had an awesome time! It's definitely something we want to do again.


Todd and I in Chicago

I watch my niece, Ellie every once in awhile which is so much fun! She's definitely a ball of energy and is hilarious to watch! She may be a little mischievous sometimes, as my kids are. This day I told Ellie and Eli NOT to play in the pile of dirt (left over from the sidewalk). Maybe they didn't hear me?!?!

My sister, Lisa and I had the privilege of helping to coordinate a premiere this September for the next video in the That The World May Know Faith Lesson Series. It was an amazing night and we could feel God's presence there. We also were able to work with Amanda from TIG. SO much fun!!

Todd and I at the premiere which was held at Holland Christian

Sophia went on her first field trip last week to Teusinks Farm. It was a little rainy and cold, but the kids did great and we all had a good time. Here she is deep in conversation with Silas.

On the hayride. Luckily we had a covered wagon to ride on and we didn't get wet!

Sophia riding the pony. Some of the kids were a little fearful, but not Sophia!

Sophia's class with their teacher Maestra De Leon (right), and her assistant Maestra Haak.

This was about as enthusiastic as Sophia got about petting the animals. ONE finger! :)

The kids are growing up so fast!

It started out like any other night. We ate supper, or Todd and I did while the kids picked at their plates for almost a minute before begging to get down and go play. After Todd and I finished eating, we started cleaning up the kitchen while the kids cleaned up their toys in the other room. After our chores were done (for the most part), Todd went outside to "putter" and the kids followed him outside to play. A few minutes later, I looked outside and Todd was working on our old van. A few months ago, it blew a gasket or something of that nature and was going to cost more to fix than it was worth, so we got a new van. Todd asked one of his buddies if the old clunker could be welded back together to which his friend said sure! $50 later we had a very unreliable, and barely road worthy vehicle but it was driveable. Todd has been using it to go to and from work. Today when Todd got home he said that the back door wouldn't open or close, so he was going to work on it after supper, which he did. After while, Sophia got sick of being outside and came in while the other 2 continued to play outside. As I'm wiping off the table, I hear an ear-piercing scream from Madelyn. She was screaming, "Daddy!!!!" I ran to the window and watched as our van, back hatch wide open, rolled quickly down the driveway and headed right toward the barn doors. I thought Todd was driving too fast especially while the kids were outside and didn't know why Madelyn was screaming about it.....until I noticed that no one was in the drivers seat...wait, what is that? A tuft of light brown hair was just visible over the steering wheel. Yup, ELI!!!!!!!! I watched as he backed right into the barn, the big steel door now laying on top of the van as the vehicle came to a hault. I ran outside as fast as I could not realizing the pain I was inflicting on my feet by running over gravel with barefeet. Just as I reached the van, Todd was pulling Eli from the driver's seat.

"Is he ok?" I asked, desperate for an immediate response.

"Yes, he's fine" Todd answered, just as relieved as I was.

"Thank you, Lord!" Thank you for watching over my baby tonight! Thank you for making Sophia come inside and play so that she was not a target on Eli's wild ride. Thank you that Madelyn was swinging and singing to herself and not in his path either.

Whew!!! Some of you may be asking why we would leave a car running with children playing around it? Well, we didn't. For some reason, this van, a '96, does not have the safety feature that most cars now do. You don't have to push on the break to get the car out of gear. You can simply pull down on the shifter and put the car in drive, or reverse, or nuetral! Yikes!!

I knew that it would be just a blink of an eye and my kids would be all grown up and driving, but this was ridiculous! :)

Here comes the rain

I woke up this morning to the sound of raindrops. With the rain soon came thunder and lightening. Most people might consider this a gloomy day, especially in the midst of the summer season, but I love a good rain shower. It reminds me of when I was little and a storm would come. I'd go outside underneath a metal rooftop and listen as the rain fell. My Mom would tell me stories of her going outside and watching storms come in with her Dad, a man I met, but don't remember.

Now that I've grown up into an "adult", I still can't help soaking up the sights and sounds that bring back those memories. In a strange way it also makes me feel so blessed. God has blessed me with a home to be safe, dry and warm in during the storm....and has filled this home with a wonderful family. Thank you God for giving me everything that I need to survive the storm outside and the "storms" that may come in my life. I am so thankful!

"Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants." Deuteronomy 32:2

"The Chimney"

I'm writing this post especially for my Dad. Tonight at supper time, Sophia wanted to pray, and she did. She thanked God for the food and for her family and for being able to go to Ellie's house and play today. As he does every time Sophia does anything, Eli wanted to pray too. So bowed his head and prayed (with his eyes SOOO tight and hands folded). He thanked God for "food, famy (Eli for family), Grandma house, and push chimney....AMEN.

Todd and I just looked at eachother and laughed. I'll try to explain. Ever time we visit my parents, the kids all go into Grandpa's office and ask to "push the chimney". Grandpa has an M&M dispenser which has a chimney.....when pushed, M&M's come out. Having just been there this afternoon, that's what Eli was thankful for.

SO, thanks, Dad for letting him "push chimney"!!

Summer's half over!!

I can't believe that there's only 1 more month of summer vacation and then the kids go back to school and I go back to reality!! We've had such an amazing summer so far. I thought that instead of just talking about it, I'd tell you in pictures!! Enjoy!!


At the end of June, we went camping with my cousin Sarah and her boys: Timmy and Jared. We had a blast and were joined by our husbands at the end of the week. The really fun part was that my Mom's side of the family were all on the other side of the lake in cottages. We had a blast!! We also celebrated Sophia's 4th birthday while we were there.

Sophia's Birthday Party in the camper...it was SOOOOO HOT we had to move the celebration inside!

Timmy Geelhoed

Madelyn learned to knee-board!! I did too thanks to Sarah!!

This.....well, this is trouble!! This is my cousin Paul, Steve (Sarah's hubby), and Todd

Greg and Lisa visited for a day...here's Sophia holding Grace.

Every summer when my sister Michelle and her family come to Michigan, my Dad "Grandpa" takes all of the Grandkids out for a day of fun. This year there were 2 days. . . One to John Ball Zoo and the other to Crazy Bounce. The kids had a riot!!

I see these 2 (Sophia and Garrett) holding hands. . I was glad this time I caught it on film!!

We were also able to celebrate with Greg and Lisa when they baptised Grace. We gathered at Mom and Dad's for a lunch after the baptism.

A lot of time was spent at the pool this summer too. The kids LOVE to swim and are getting really confident with their pool skills! Sophia is swimming by herself underwater. !!

All 15 Grandkids: From oldest to youngest/left to right:

Clayton, Ben, Chloe, Madelyn, Hannah, Jacob, Lydia, Sarah, Amaya, Garrett, Sophia, Sam, Ellie, Eli, Grace. Whew!

Just this past weekend we took off for a little road trip. We went to a deer park in Coloma and then made our way to Indiana where we stopped at Bass Pro Shops.

I hope you are all having as full a summer as we are!!!

Happy Birthday, Charity!!!

Today, June 2, is my sister-in-law Charity's birthday. Where do I begin? My brother Jeff started dating Charity when I was 10, so to me she's always been a sister. (None of that "sister-in-law" stuff!) I have always looked up to her, but more than that, I have always respected her. She loves God with all of her heart and it shows! It shows in the kind of wife and the kind of mother that she is! When I see her being a Mom, I want to be a better Mom. When I see her being a wife, I want to be a better wife! Thank you, Charity for being a sister, a friend, and a role model to me! I have learned so much from your positive attitude and Christ-centered living!

I also appreciate Charity's sense of humor!! She never takes things too seriously, and tries to find the humor all situations! No matter how frustrated I might be, she can put things in perspective for me!

Thanks, Charity! I love you, sister! Have a great birthday. I pray that God gives you all the desires of your heart, you deserve it!

Workout Wednesday.....sigh

I really thought about skipping this weeks post, but in all fairness to those of you who are following along and actually interacting in workout Wednesday, I am posting. You're welcome.

Where do I begin? It was a crazy, holiday weekend so I was already tired and may have skipped 1 or 2 days of working out. Also, I love to eat. Yup, I do. I can be having the best day and then, 3:00 rolls around. What is it about 3:00? My body says: "Chocolate!" "Salty Snacks!" It's downhill from there until bedtime! I've also been VERY discouraged lately because I am not noticing ANY DIFFERENCES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRR. I haven't weiged myself which is one of my goals for the week, but it doesn't matter. My body isn't changing. With that being said, I lack the motivation to continue on as diligently as I started.

I guess my goals for the week are:

- Go to the gym 5-6 times this week
- go to bed by 10:30 so I'm not so stinking tired at 5:30 when the alarm goes off.
- Give it to God!! Whether I'm doing this for outward appearance or a healthier me, I can't do it without Him.

So that's all for me today. I hope you all are doing better that I am!
-

Sweet Sophia

Normally I like to post a little something about each of my kids, but Sophia has really been in the forefront of my mind lately!! For those of you who don't know Sophia, she is the child who makes me cry the hardest and laugh the loudest. :) She's going to be my perfectionist. She likes things just so! She's also incredibly bright. She loves puzzles and can do a 50 piece puzzle with the small pieces by herself. Not bad for a 3 year old! She also knows her alphabet, can write her name, and has a memory like.....well, like my sister-in-law, Charity! She hears something and it's ingrained in her brain!

Like last week when she was asking me about heaven:

Sophia: How do we get to heaven....do we drive there?
Me: No, Jesus takes us to heaven!
Sophia: Does Jesus take our soul when we go to heaven?
Me: (shock) Um......well, go play!! (I did explain a little about heaven and her soul!!)

Besides being very smart, she's also the dickens! She's very mischievous, but in a way that USUALLY makes me laugh...mostly on the inside, but sometimes I let a little giggle slip when disciplining! Like this:

Sophia: Mom, can I have a snack?
ME: No, Sophia, we just finished lunch 15 minutes ago.
Sophia: Ok......(15 minutes later), Mom, can I have a snack?
ME: (I notice that she has a sucker stick in her hair) Sophia, did you already have a snack?
Sophia: No (A little sparkle in her eye).
ME: You didn't have a sucker?
Sophia: No
ME: Then what's stuck in your hair?
Sophia: (Noticing the stick and pulling it out of her now super sticky hair)...I think I DID have a sucker!

Priceless. And just today:

Sophia: Mom, Madelyn's eating chips!!
Me: Madelyn, are you eating chips? We're going to have lunch in a few minutes.
Madelyn: No, I promise, I'm not!
ME: Madelyn, did you have chips?
Madelyn: Mom, I didn't!!!
Sophia: (In a whisper)...Mom, smell her breathe!!

OH, Sophia, you are going to make a great Mom someday!!

So that's a little glimpse of what it's like to be Sophia's Mom! I'm so lucky!

Workout Wednesday

Here we are again. It's been such a busy week for me, I'm not even sure where to start. I guess I'll start with how I did on my goals from last week:

- I have been more active with the kids, although we haven't really done any activities. Just basic playing outside! But it's better than watching videos and being stuck inside! I will admit there was one day that I got a great workout by cleaning my house from top to bottom, BUT the kids did watch a little TV so I could get something done! Also, I've been hired to paint someone's upstairs, so I've been busy the last 2 days doing that. (I'd like to start a side business if anyone wants any painting done!) Something VERY minimal right now, but that would grow once the kids are in school

- I skipped a workout this week! I just couldn't get myself out of bed! So instead of my 6 workouts in a week it was 5 last week. Still a good week, but not what I had set for myself.

- I have not had one sugary snack!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am however a little crabby. Chocolate does make me very happy!! A little lazy, but happy! I didn't even sneak a handful of M&M's while cleaning my Dad's office. He keeps some in his office for the Grandkids, but I do indulge myself once in awhile, but not this week!! That's a huge step for me!

My workouts, other than having skipped one, are going ok. There's one excersize that I HATE doing and usually only do 1/2 of what I'm supposed to. Any of you who want to try it, here's what it is: You need an excersize ball: Lay on your back on the floor with your arms out to the side and palms up. Put your feet on the ball using your core to ballance. Now lift your pelvis off the ground. Not too hard, right? Now, pull your feet in toward your bottom lifting your pelvis up. Now SLOWLY put your feet back out straight. Repeat, 12 times for 1 set. Do 3 sets total. YIKES!

Other than being a slave to the scale, I had a pretty good week. I haven't really lost much yet and my clothes don't seem to fit any differently, but hey, I'm doing this for good health and not my outward appearance, right? Yeah right. So that's been a little discouraging, but I'll keep plugging away!

My goals for this week are:

- Continue to be active with the kids.
- Don't look at the scale.....at all!!!!!
- I'd like to get rid of my no sugar goal from last week, but only because there's a container of chocolate frosting in the fridge, begging to be eaten! So for my own accountability, I'll keep that as one of my goals. NO SUGARY SNACKS!!!

I'll try to post something a little more interesting later in the week, so stay tuned!

Workout......Fridays?

Here we go......my sister Lisa started "workout Wednesdays" on her blog a few weeks ago. Although I did start exercising, I haven't done the blog part. Here's what you have to do. Blog about 3 of your goals for the coming week and 3 of your failures in the previous week when it come to diet and excersize. YIKES!!! Only 3?? You can comment on my goals or failures if you want to. You know," Great job, keep it up" or " Seriously, what were you thinking? You can do this, now get your butt in gear!!" Anything that will help me stay on track!

Since Lisa started Workout Wednesdays, I joined a gym. I know, I know! Yes, I, Alison Elders joined a gym!!!! I've been working out 6 times a week. I get up at 5:30 and I'm at the gym at 6:00 for a 1 hour workout. I've met with a trainer twice and have a pretty good routine nailed down. I'll meet with her once a month to make the workouts progressivly harder.....EEEEKK!!

With that being said, here are my failures this past week:

1. I skipped the gym 2 days in a row this week!! When I worked out this morning even the other gym members noticed! "Nice to have you back in the gym....didn't know if we'd see you again!" There's accountability right there!!

2. Although I've been pretty committed to my workouts, I seem to make up for that by eating!! I am frustrated that I haven't lost much weight, but just the other day I sat down in front of the TV with a spoon and a container of sprinkles!!! That's all that I had in the house that was sweet. I ate the whole thing!!! Not my proudest moment.

3. I have this strange logic: I worked out this morning, so that means I shouldn't have to move for the rest of the day!!! I "lounged" a little too much this week!!


Now for my goals:

1. Make it to the gym 6 times and push myself as hard as I can for that one hour!! Don't slack on that last rep, push thru the pain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2. Set an activity each day for myself so that I'm not just sitting! I need to do this for myself and my kids! They need to be active too!

3. No sweets this week!! I have a tendancy to cut out sugar for a day and then binge eat until the thought of something sweet makes me sick to my stomach!! I'm going to try for this week not to eat candy, ice cream, etc. You know, the things that have become my constant companion for the past few years! I'm going to try and put down the sprinkles and pick up something that will actually do my body some good!

So, there you have it. Those are my goals for the week. I'm hoping that posting them for all the world to see will make me work hard to realize them!! Thanks for the accountability!!!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Today is the 9Th time that I was able to celebrate Mother's Day as a Mom. The busyness of the day/weekend is now behind us and I'm left here in the quiet of the afternoon to reflect. Being a Mom is the hardest thing that I've ever done! It's a thankless job. We don't get a paycheck or a Christmas bonus. There's no paid time off and we don't quite at 5:00. But at the end of the day I can say that I had the privilege of raising God's children. God has blessed me with 3 beautiful kids that I get to teach about the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ! To me that is the most important job in the world!


Now I have to say thank you to my Mom, who taught me what it means to be a loving, god-fearing woman and mother. She taught me through her words about loving Jesus, but I think I learned more from her actions!! Thank you Mom!! I love and admire you so much!!


Happy Mother's Day to all of you Mother's out there! Know that you are giving your kids an inheritance that will last forever!!

Catch up!!!

Hello everyone!!!!! Well, after recieving some....ok a LOT of grief over my lack of recent posts, I've decided to make a new post!! WOOOOHOOOOO! A lot has happened since the last one (Todd's birthday)! I'll quickly review the highlights of the past few months at the Elders' home.

We have a new member of our family! My sister Lisa and her hubby Greg, had a baby girl: Grace Eliana. She was born in March and we love her sooo much! It's a lot of fun to have a baby around again! It's also fun to see our kids, especially Eli interact with her. He LOVES to hold her and talk to her!



It was Madelyn's 8th B-day in April. Ususally we have a party with our immediate family and Grandparents from both sides, but in addition to that this year we decided to invite all of her school friends, along with a few other girls to our house for a big party!



There were 16 girls in all (including Sophia). Needless to say, it was a crazy day, but so much fun! I can't believe she's 8!!!

We played games, went on a scavenger hunt, painted t-shirts, decorated cupcakes and had a water balloon toss. What a great day! She couldn't have asked for it to go any better and the weather cooperated too!!

Also in April was Easter. Every year we go to my parents house for Easter dinner and this year was no different. We had a great day celebrating with family!

WAY back in March it was my baby's birthday! My little man is already 2! I can't believe it. It feels like just yesterday that we brought him home. A lot has happened in our family since he was born! A new and remodeled home and a new career for Todd and our family.

God has truly blessed and continues to bless our family! Praise Him for all that he provides for us!!!